


But I Didn't

by CoolC17



Category: Undertale, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/F, not sure how far I wanna go with it yet, slight romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-06-08 13:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 6,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6856573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoolC17/pseuds/CoolC17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When I jumped into the depths of Mt. Ebott, I thought I'd die alone.</p><p>But I didn't</p><p>(Undertale AU where Chara is a ghost attached to Frisk's soul and pretty much guides them through the underground. Fair warning, though. I do refer to Chara as female throughout the story, but Frisk will still be referred to as gender neutral. Sorry if it bothers you.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Legend of Mt. Ebott

Everybody knows the legend of Mt. Ebott. It's a story whispered around camp fires in the silence of the night, used to scare children out of wandering from their parents or running away. Those who climb the mountain never return. 

It wasn't death I was looking for when I climbed Mt. Ebott, not really. I was just looking to.... disappear. But in the back of my mind, the place I didn't like to visit, I knew that to disappear into the dark abyss of the mountain meant certain death, but I refused to entertain the fact.

It wasn't until moments after I jumped, however, that the truth finally registered to me.

I am going to die.


	2. A Bed of Golden Flowers

The fall wasn't nearly as long as I expected it to be. The darkness shadowing the interior of the hole gave it a bottomless appearance, so you can imagine my surprise when I hit the cushioned ground in only a few seconds.

I'm not dead.

I yelp from the sudden impact of my body hitting the ground. I find the strength to stand up and observe my surroundings, the slight chill reminding me of the vacant cave walls surrounding me.

I look down and see what cushioned my fall. I seem to have landed on a bed of golden flowers. Despite the obvious damage I did to them by falling on them, they surprisingly seem very well kept.

While I'm surveying the damage to my body, I hear a crunch of the flowers behind me, and stare in disbelief as my eyes lay upon a child. She look surprisingly similar to me. We look around the same age, and the only differences I can find between the two of us is our clothes(I'm wearing a purple and blue striped sweater, hers is green and yellow), and the shade of her skin is slightly lighter than mine. Other than that, we could be twins.

Well, that and her eyes. My chocolate brown eyes are rather small, and often get mistaken for being closed. Hers, on the other hand, are large, almost anime-like, and a bright, vibrant shade of red. Her frightening stare is enough to freeze me in place instantaneously. She wears a wide grin on her face, seemingly amused at my arrival.

"H...Hello?" I ask cautiously, unsure of how to greet the strange girl. She didn't fall down, to the extent of my knowledge, has she been stuck down here? And if so, for how long?

Her grin gets so wide it looks painful, and I feel a chill go up my spine. I'm not sure why she scares me so much. She's obviously a child, but something about her piercing eyes and maniacal grin....

"Greetings. I am Chara" she formally introduces herself, even holding out her hand for me to shake.

I take her hand and force a small smile "Hi... I'm Frisk." I answer quietly. She never breaks eye contact.

"So, you're the one then. You don't look like much." Her blood red eyes scan my body, with an almost judgmental expression.

"What do you mean 'the one'?" My voice shakes when I speak.

"The one who awakened me from death."


	3. Awakened?

I take a step back in surprise. Awakened her from death?

Suddenly in a flash, a bright red cartoonish heart appears, floating in the air directly in front of me.

Chara approaches me, with a slightly more gentle smile than before.

She examines the heart for a moment before speaking.

"See that heart? That's your soul. The very culmination of your being. The color of it expresses the exact nature of it. Red means determination. The power of determination is very important here in the underground, as you'll soon see, and the sheer power and determination of your soul awakened me."

"What do you mean....awakened?"

"I'm still technically dead. When I was alive, I had the same kind of soul; red. I think it's because of our similar type of soul that yours called out to mine. After all, you are standing on my grave"

I quickly look down at the bed of flowers and jump back, yelping in shock. This seems to amuse Chara, as she lets out a small giggle at my repulsion.

"H...How did you d-die?" I ask quietly, unable to hold back my curiosity.

Her eyes seem to darken slightly, but just for a moment. "That's.... not important anymore." she answers, her voice grim and full of regret.

"Well anyway," she continues in a brighter voice, changing the subject. "You're the only one that can see me. I'm sorta like a ghost, I guess. And because of the natural magnetic pull between our souls, I can't stray too far from you." To demonstrate her point, Chara walks about 20 feet away from me when she's suddenly yanked back, as if attached to a bungee cord.

My eyes widen as I'm processing the new information. "So.... what now?" I ask her after a  few moments.

She seems surprised at how quickly I accepted what she had said, probably expecting me to be in denial or confusion.

"Now," Chara grins again, less in a hostile, creepy way like before, but more in a friendly yet mischievous way. "We explore."

Chara exits the room we're currently in, obviously expecting me to follow her. I comply, mostly because I doubt she wants to be yanked back again. 

The second we exit into the hallway, me a few strides behind Chara, I spot a patch of bright green grass in the middle of the hall. It looks extremely out of place in such a dim, eerie cave.

Suddenly, a flower pops out of the patch almost instantly. I'm shocked by the fact that it has a face. And a voice as I soon realize. Bearing a friendly, bright grin, it speaks.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey, Flowey the Flower!"


	4. Flowey the Flower

I glance at Chara beside me for guidance, but she seems just as perplexed as me. Eyebrows furrowed, she stares incomprehensibly at Flowey.

I expect Flowey to be looking back at Chara, but when I look back at him he's staring right at me, unaware of Chara's presence.

"Boy! You're new to the underground, aren'tcha? Someone oughta teach you how things work around here. I guess little old me will have to do!" Flowey exclaims, and suddenly I can once again see my soul again, floating in front of me just as before.

"That's your soul! Your soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV! What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE of course! You want some LOVE, don'tcha?" Suddenly little white pellets are summoned above Flowey, almost pointed at me in a menacing manner.

Suddenly, Chara's at my side again. "Don't trust him." She offers quietly. 

"Here in the underground, love is shared through little white 'friendliness pellets'! Move around! Catch as many as you can!" Flowey says, right before the 'friendliness pellets' begin slowly flying in my direction.

Following Chara's advice, I move out of the path of the pellets just before they hit me.

"Hey buddy... You uh, you missed 'em." Flowey looks suddenly out of character, his previous cheerful, friendly expression now replaced with one of annoyance.

"Let's try again... Okay?" Flowey says, his expression returning back to normal, as more pellets are summoned above him. They're faster than before, but still moving at a slow enough pace that I can easily dodge them.

This time, Flowey's expression turns into one of pure fury.

"Is this a joke? Are you brain dead? RUN. INTO. THE. BULLETS!!! Uh... I mean friendliness pellets." 

This time, the bullets shoot towards me at an alarming rate, but I still manage to dodge. I look back towards Chara for help, but she seems almost zoned out, deep in thought.

Flowey's expression now escalates to one right out of a horror movie. His whole face morphs into one so terrifying it catches me off guard. Even his voice changes to one of so much anger and suspicion it sends chills up my spine.

"You know what's going on here, don't you? You just wanted to see me suffer?"

Suddenly I'm completely surrounded by bullets, impossible to dodge, moving towards me at a frightening pace.

"DIE"

I frantically look to Chara for help, but she's panicking as well. 

The bullets are just about to hit me, when suddenly a ball of.... fire? Appears out of nowhere, striking Flowey. He's flown into the darkness along with the ball of fire.

I'm just letting out a sigh of relief as another person steps out of the darkness and into vision. A... goat woman?

The goat woman approaches me, with a look of kindness, and the slightest impression of anger.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth. Do not be afraid my child, I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. I come down here everyday to see if anyone's fallen down. You are the first human to fall down here in a long time. Come! I will guide you through the catacombs." Toriel announces, before turning and exiting the room.

Reflexively, I turn toward Chara for advice, or guidance, but I'm offered none. Her facial expression is hard to read, but I see traces of what can only be described as regret, grief, and sadness. I can tell she has tears in here eyes as she stares blankly at where Toriel was, just seconds ago.

"M-mom?" She manages to weakly stutter out.

"Chara..?" I move towards her slowly, as if trying to approach a frightened animal without scaring her off.

Chara clenches her eyes shut, tears streaming down her face, and takes a deep breath, before wiping away her tears.

"Let's go." She says in a finalizing tone, and I can tell questions would not be welcome at the moment.

"....Okay.." I answer, not wanting to bother her, and move towards the exit, apparently leading towards the catacombs.


	5. Monster Candy

-a brief explanation of puzzles from Toriel, and a rather awkward encounter with a training dummy later-

"Please remain here until I return, my child" Toriel says. I've come to trust Toriel surprisingly quickly. It's something about her natural mothering and nurturing qualities that makes her easy to like.

I simply nod in response, unable to muster up much enthusiasm. I've been concerned about Chara. After our first encounter with Toriel, she's been mostly silent, her face displaying no emotion whatsoever.

When Toriel leaves the room, with one last assurance that she'll be back soon, I turn to Chara.

"What?" She snaps in a passive-aggressive tone after I stare awkwardly at her for a few seconds.

She must see my hesitance and slight fear, because her expression softens as she sighs in defeat and annoyance.

"Look, I'm fine, okay Frisk? I promise. Let's go." Chara assures me, before turning to exit the room.

"But Toriel said to wait here!" I exclaim, since Chara is already halfway out the door.

She turns back to me with a look of irritation and slight confusion. "Do you seriously want to wait here until she gets back? That could take ages. C'mon, I thought you were adventurous!" Chara reasons.

"But she said it's dangerous out there! She's not even here to scare off monsters for us!" I counter, but Chara's already pretty much convinced me. Waiting here sounds really boring.

Chara raises her eyebrows at me, as if to say really?.

I sigh. "Fine. But if we get into trouble, it's your fault."

Chara grins. It's the first positive emotion I've seen her have since we first met Toriel.

I hesitantly follow Chara outside of the room, and into one that's pretty big, with patches of leaves scattered around.

I'm immediately met with a froggit, standing alone by the entrance to the room.

Unsure if it's hostile, I cautiously step into its line of sight. It turns to me in a friendly matter, before speaking in a series of croaks.

"Ribbit. Greetings human, I have some advice for you about battling monsters. If you act a certain way, or fight until you almost defeat them, they may not want to battle you anymore. If this is the case, please, use some mercy, human. Ribbit." 

I smile kindly at the froggit. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you." I say, planning to put this new information to use.

I turn away and glance at Chara, who's rolling her eyes.

"Come on, let's go in here." Chara encourages me, before entering a room directly to the froggits left.

Upon entering, I'm greeted with a single pedestal with a bowl filled with candy. A piece of paper taped to the bowl says "Take one". Glancing into the bowl, since I get no objection from Chara, I take a piece of candy. The wrapper says 'Monster Candy' in large, green letters, surrounded by cartoon stars.

Just as I turn to leave, Chara speaks up.

"Why not take more? I mean, it heals you in battle, why only take one?" Chara asks, looking annoyed and confused.

"It said take one."

"Well who's gonna care, or even know? Seriously Frisk, you're way too innocent and nice." Chara says, shaking her head.

I want to object to her statement, but decide against it when I can't even think of any decent counter argument. Instead, in defiance to what she thinks of me, I walk back over to the bowl and take another piece of candy, before striding out of the room confidently. I can hear Chara laugh behind me.

I feel guilty.


	6. Spider Bake Sale

I step into the small room, glancing around. It's mostly empty, save for a single wooden sign and two spider webs.

With Chara by my side, I walk over to the sign and read it. 

"Spider bake sale. All proceeds go to real spiders!" I read aloud, smiling.

I step over to the larger of the two webs, and read the piece of paper strung up in the middle of it.

Spider Cider- 18g

I pull a handful of gold out of my pocket that I've been given from monsters after befriending them. I carefully count out 18 pieces, before setting them gently in the web.

A couple of abnormally large spiders crawl down from the top of the web, holding a jug filled with some liquid. 

"Thank you!" I smile and take the jug.

A few minutes later I follow Chara out of the room, and further down the hall, until we're met with another wooden sign which I also read aloud.

"Did you miss it? Spider bake sale down and to the right! Real pastries made by spiders, for spiders." I smile at the sign, then at Chara.

"Aww, that's cute." I announce cheerfully. Chara stares at me for a moment with an odd expression, then back at the sign.

She points directly underneath what I had just read, at some slightly faded text that I hadn't noticed.

"Actually it says 'Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders'" Chara says as she grins at me.

I look back at the sign to realize; she wasn't lying, it really did say that.

Carefully I pull the jug out of my bag to examine it closer. After a second of looking at it I spot a label I hadn't bothered to look at before.

"Made with whole spiders, not just the juice" 

After seeing the repulsed, disgusted expression on my face, Chara bursts into laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short!


	7. Home

Chara and I step into the next room, relieved. The last puzzle had been particularly difficult, and took a while to solve. 

This room splits off into two paths, and the center has a large patch of red-brown leaves.

We decide to go to the right first, and are pleasantly greeted with the view of a gigantic city.

A froggit standing near the entrance starts speaking.

"Ribbit. Just between you and me, I saw Toriel come out of here just a little while ago. She was carrying groceries. Ribbit" The froggit croaks.

I smile kindly. "Thanks for telling me" I turn to leave the room, waving goodbye to the froggit.

We go down the other path and enter another room. Toriel's there, in front of a pitch black tree, with hundreds of black, dead leaves at the base of it.

"How did you get here, my child? Are you hurt? " She walks toward us, obviously concerned.

Her face fills with regret. "I should not have left you alone for so long, it was irresponsible of me to try and surprise you like this." She says grimly.

Her expression soon changes, though. "Oh well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer. Come, I have a surprise for you."

Filled with renewed childlike curiosity, I follow Toriel into a small, cottage like house. 

Soon after stepping in, Toriel speaks again. "Do you smell that? Surprise! I baked you a butterscotch-cinnamon pie!" The phone call from Toriel earlier about my preference of butterscotch or cinnamon doesn't seem so random anymore.

The smell of the pie, even still in the oven, wafts through the corridors of the house, and even from the center room of Toriels home I can smell the sweet scent of butterscotch and cinnamon.

I smile up at her, and am about to thank her when she speaks again.

"I have another surprise for you. Come small one."

I'm lead down a hallway and stopped at the doorway to a room. 

"Your own bedroom! I hope you like it." I smile again, but with slight hesitance. My own room? I never intended to be here long, I need to get back to the surface, after all.

"Oh, uh, is something burning?" Toriels face changes to one of slight concern as she glances in the direction we came from.

"Oh, erm, make yourself at home!" Toriel says nervously before sprinting off, presumably to check on the pie.

I decide to do just that, and move my hand to open the bedroom door, but first decide to see how Chara is fairing with being near Toriel so much.

Chara's expression is full of sorrow, especially staring at the bedroom door. I consider trying to comfort her, or at least talk to her, but I figure it wouldn't help. 

Instead, I creek open in the door and am greeted with a room obviously made for a child. It has a single twin bed, a box full of non-interesting toys, and a box full of old, slightly worn shoes in a disparity of sizes.

I suddenly realize just how fatigued I feel, and turn off the single lamp, darkening the room. I sit on the bed, preparing to go to sleep, before speaking to Chara.

"So....do ghosts sleep....or?" I ask awkwardly.

Chara seems to be in deep thought for a second, before shrugging. "I don't really know. I hadn't been.... conscious, before you showed up. But I do feel kinda tired. I guess I'll give it a shot." She decides, yawning.

I lay down on the twin bed.

"Goodnight, Chara."


	8. Toriel's Diary

I wake to a subtle, sweet scent. I'm caught up in confusion of where I am for a moment until I remember today's events.

I have no idea how long I've slept, but I feel completely refreshed. I slowly sit up and walk to the other side of the room where I remember the lamp being.

Once the room's filled with light, I discover the source of the scent. Sitting on the floor in the middle of the room is a single plate with a piece of butterscotch-cinnamon pie on it.

I also spot Chara, not asleep like I expected her to be, but instead staring deep in thought at an old, dusty framed photo on the dresser.

"Do you know what time it is?" I ask groggily, my eyes still blurry from sleep.

"It's been a few hours at least. As it turns out, ghosts can't sleep." Chara points out matter-of-factly.

Not incredibly interested with this new information, I turn to exit the room.

Chara follows suit, and we step into the well-lit hallway. To the right is the entrance room we came from, and to the left in the hall are two closed doors. 

I decide to check for Toriel in the two rooms first. The first of the two appears to be Toriel's bedroom. It contains a queen sized bed, a bookcase, a dresser, and a desk.

Upon inspection of the desk, I find what appears to be Toriel's diary, which I ignore for the sake of her privacy.

I also choose to ignore the completely-regular bucket to the left of it which just happens to be full of snails.

The bookcase holds dozens of recipe books, some books on subterranean plants, and even a few joke books.

Since Toriel isn't there, I decide to exit the room before hearing an objection from Chara.

"Wait! Don't you wanna read her diary?" Chara asks eagerly with a mischievous grin.

I sigh. "No, not really Chara."

"Come on. Don'tcha wanna know how she ended up here? Why she checks in the ruins everyday for anyone that's fallen down? I mean, she's completely isolated from the other monsters here! This diary could contain crucially important information!" Chara reasons enthusiastically.

I shake my head in defeat. "Fine."

I walk back over to the desk cautiously. "But I'm not gonna read it and disrespect her privacy, I'll open it for you, and you read it."

Chara rolls her eyes at me. "Fine."

I open the diary and look away, already feeling guilty. I watch Chara's face as she reads it instead.

I notice her eyes narrow, and her expression looks confused, and a bit.... repulsed?

"It's just full of...." Chara starts, her eyes quickly scanning the page.

"Fucking skeleton puns."


	9. Prove Yourself

I can't help the giggles that escape me at Chara's words. I look down at the diary, to find that, yes, it really is full of skeleton puns. I decide to read one aloud.

"Why did the skeleton want a friend? Because she was feeling bonely." I read just to annoy Chara.

She's glaring at the diary with a look of disgust. "Fucking skeleton puns." She repeats with emphasis.

I can't contain my laughter.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Once we exit Toriel's room, we walk further down the hall to investigate the room at the far end.

There's a clearly visible sign on the door. Room under renovations.

I try to open it anyway, but it's locked. Chara looks oddly perplexed, but shrugs it off.

The main room contains the doorway to another room, and a staircase leading down. We decide to check for Toriel in the other room first.

As soon as we step in, it's obvious that this is a dining room. It's fairly large, containing a dining chair and tables, a bookcase, a reading chair, and the entrance to yet another room.

Toriel is sitting peacefully on the large, comfy-looking chair, and appears to be reading a book. She has reading glasses on.

Hearing my entrance, Toriel looks up at me and smiles.

"Up already, I see?" She greets me cheerfully, and I simply smile in response.

She then continues a bit awkwardly. "Um, I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here. There are so many old books I'd like to share. I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot. I've also prepared a curriculum for your education. This may come as a surprise to you, but I have always wanted to be a teacher. Well, perhaps it's not that surprising." She smiles.

As kind and generous as what she's saying is, I know that I can't stay here. I need to get back home, and she's acting as if I've already agreed to stay here for years.

"Oh, did you need something? What is it?" Toriel asks me, and I find it difficult to answer honestly.

"Um....Toriel, when can I... go home?" I ask shyly, uncertain of what her response will be.

"What? This....this is your home now." My heart rate increases slightly. That sounded a bit aggressive.

"Um.....would you like to hear about this book I'm reading? It's called 72 Uses for Snails." She changes the subject, avoiding my question.

"Toriel... how can I leave the ruins?" I ask her while looking down.

"I.... have to do something. Stay here." Toriel demands, before rushing off towards the main room.

I look to Chara for help, but she just looks perplexed and flustered.

I follow in Toriel's footsteps just in time to see her heading downstairs. I briskly follow in suit.

At the bottom of the steps, I'm met with a long hallway, with Toriel standing a bit farther ahead.

When I finally catch up with her, she speaks again.

"You wish to know how to return 'home', do you not? Ahead of us lies the end of the ruins, a one-way exit to the rest of the underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs." She walks further down the hall.

I follow her.

"Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die. You naive child.... if you leave the ruins... they.... ASGORE... will kill you. I am only protecting you, do you understand? Go to your room." She walks further down the hall.

I follow her.

"Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning." She walks further down the hall.

I follow her.

She comes to a stop at a door at the end of the hall. "You want to leave so badly?" she asks firmly.

"Hmph. You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this."

"Prove yourself.... Prove to me you are strong enough to survive."

Then the fire balls appear.


	10. Mercy

I swiftly yet efficiently dodge the first fireball shot at me.

But that was just the beginning.

Next, a barrage of fire is aimed towards me, and I'm unable to perfectly dodge the attack, fire burning my exposed skin.

I look to Chara beside me for help. However, instead of assisting me like she has up until this point, she speaks quietly and blankly.

"She knows best for you."

I turn back towards Toriel, just in time to dodge another wall of fire.

Toriel looks expectantly at me, wanting me to fight back.

I refuse.

"Please Toriel.... I-I don't want to fight. I just want to go home." I beg, unable to hold back the tears in my eyes.

She attacks again and again. She looks disappointed every time I refuse to fight.

"Attack or run away!" She exclaims. But I know fleeing isn't the solution to this. I need to get past her in order to leave.

She takes a deep breath. "What are you proving this way?" She attacks again.

Her attacks start to become uncertain. "Fight me or leave!" 

I refuse.

"Stop looking at me that way!" She yells, and I can hear the shaking in her voice, and see the hesitance in her attacks.

"Go away!" Her tears fall.

She attacks again, summoning fire balls and shooting them in my direction.

Except not.

Every single ball of fire avoids me, not even attempting to harm me.

"I know you want to go home but... please, just go upstairs." She stops attacking entirely.

"I promise I will take good care of you here." I wipe the tears from my own cheeks. I never doubted she would take care of me, or love me, but I just need to get home.

"I know we do not have much, but.... we can have a good life here." She begs desperately.

"Why are you making this difficult? Please, go upstairs." She's near sobbing.

"Hahaha..... Pathetic, aren't I? I cannot save even a single child." She says bitterly.

After a few moments of looking at me she speaks again.

"No... I-I understand. You would simply be unhappy trapped down here." The despairing look on her face makes me want to cry.

"My expectations.... my loneliness.... my fear. For you, my child, I will put them aside. If you truly wish to leave the ruins, then I will not stop you." She forces a smile.

"But when you leave, please do not come back. I hope you understand." She finishes, her voice cracking. 

She crouches down to my height, and pulls me into a tight hug. I hug her back without hesitation.

My voice is tight when I speak. 

"Goodbye.... mom."


	11. My Little Monarch

I push the large doors open slowly, sneaking one last glance behind me. Toriel is nowhere to be seen.

I look at Chara again for guidance, assurance, something. Something to relieve the heavy weight on my heart for leaving somebody that I care about.

But I don't find anything reassuring in her sorrow-filled eyes as she looks back at me.

"Come on. Let's go." She says quietly, passing through the door. I follow her silently.

We walk together down the long corridor. I don't bother examining my surroundings, as I'm too deep in thought. 

When I do look up, however, my heart skips a beat. Flowey. He's staring directly at me, in the middle of a patch of grass, similar to before.

"Clever. Verrrryyy clever." He says smugly.

"You think you're really smart, don't you?" I don't answer him, I'm too afraid to.

"In this world, it's kill or be killed. So you were able to play by your own rules." I don't object, even though I feel like doing so.

His expression morphs into one of arrogance and horror. "You spared the life of a single person. Hee hee hee..."

"I bet you feel really great. You didn't kill anybody this time." No, of course not! Why would I kill?

"But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer?" I remain silent.

"You'll die and you'll die and you'll die!" His tone is far too positive and happy for his words.

"Until you tire of trying." My mind flashes back to the few times I have died. First I'm in pain, then everything goes black. A moment later, I'm floating in a black, empty space, with two buttons, two options in front of me.

Continue, or reset. Every time I've chosen continue, I don't actually know what reset is. But... He couldn't possible know about that, can he? Everybody except Chara and I always seem to forget...

"What will you do then?" Something about his tone tells me that this question isn't as hypothetical as I'd hope. But I'd never hurt anyone...

His face becomes even more terrifying this time. "Will you kill out of frustration?" His voice rises.

"Or will you give up entirely on this world... And let ME inherit the power to control it? I am the prince of this worlds future!" Wait, what? He wants to control the world?

"But don't worry, my little monarch. My plan isn't regicide. This is SO much more interesting!" He laughs, but not in a light-hearted way, not even close. His 'laugh' is terrifying. Soon after, he vanishes into the ground.

I look to Chara, who doesn't just look perplexed, she looks almost sick, or scared. I'm not entirely sure, I've never been good at recognizing people's emotions.

"Chara?" I ask nervously, biting my lip. I notice she's doing the same. 

"I...I don't..." She starts, choking on her words. 

"What is it?" I ask. I can tell it's not just Flowey's words that are bothering her. She's so shaken.

"It-it's nothing. He just sounded like.... Never mind." She finishes, obviously trying to look like nothing's bothering her.

"Come on." She says, walking ahead. When I don't comply she looks back at me with a look of frustration.

"Standing here isn't gonna help anything. Now come on." She grabs my hand this time, pulling me along.


	12. Sans

I wrap my arms around myself in a hopeless attempt to defend my body from the cold.

The snow is at least a few inches deep, and the chilly air is intensified by the freezing breeze. I can feel myself shaking.

Chara doesn't seem bothered. Ghosts probably don't feel cold. I'm jealous.

She's examine the woods around us. She actually appears to be looking at a bush with pointed concentration. I walk over to look at it too, and I see why.

In the middle of the bush, surrounded by the green leaves and snow, is what appears to be a camera lens. I examine it closely, unsure of what to do about it.

Eventually I decide to just leave it be. Walking ahead, I see a huge branch, it must've fallen from one of the many trees.

Chara and I continue walking together in the silent forest. That silence is broken, however, when I hear a loud snap.

Turning around in record time, I see the branch broken in half. I share a panicked glance with Chara. Before walking briskly forward. Whatever broke a branch that huge, I want nothing to do with.

After a few seconds of walking I encounter a short, wooden bridge. What's off about it are the odd metal bars, with several feel of space between them. Are they supposed to be some kind of block?

Suddenly I can hear footsteps close behind me. I freeze in fear, and Chara beside me does the same.

The footsteps stop directly behind me. I can feel breath on the back of my neck...

Then I hear a deep voice, speaking in painfully slow words.

"H u m a n . . . D o n ' t   y o u   k n o w   h o w   t o   g r e e t   a   n e w   p a l  ?   T u r n   a r o u n d   a n d   s h a k e   m y   h a n d ." 

It feels like my hearts about to burst out of my chest. It's not like I can stay dead or anything, but dying isn't exactly pleasant...

Reluctantly, I turn around and see a shadowy figure, about the same height as me, holding out their (his?) hand.

I grab their hand in a handshake, it feels unnaturally bony and cold. My thoughts are interrupted by a weird sound.

Pffffffttttttttttt

I jump back in surprise. Staring in shock at the figure, and it starts to.. laugh?

Oddly enough, it seems like light suddenly decided to shine on the figure, because it's not so dark anymore, and I can make it out properly.

Staring back at me is a short, wide, grinning skeleton in a blue hoodie. Not that scary, really, but my heart rate clearly doesn't get the message, as it continues to rise.

"He he.. The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It's always funny." I clearly do not find it funny.

"Anyway, you're a human, right? That's hilarious." He says.

"My name is Frisk." I say, trying to muster up some confidence.

"Well, sorry, kid I didn't mean to scare you so much." He chuckles his eyes scanning me, and I realize my fear is probably radiating off of me. Great.

"Well I'm Sans, Sans the Skeleton." He introduces himself, and I'm half expecting him to put his hand out again, but he doesn't.

"I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But, y'know, I don't really care about capturing anybody." Um, excuse me, capturing?!

"Now my brother, Papyrus, he's a human hunting fanatic. Hey, I think that's him over there. Come on." He waves me forward.

I sigh, and follow him. What else is there to do?


	13. Papyrus

I quietly follow Sans across the short wooden bridge, cautiously watching my surroundings, as if I'm expecting Sans' human-hunting brother to suddenly jump out of the bushes at me.

We stop at a small clearing in the woods, containing a random lamp(why?) and what appears to be a sentry station. I tense up when I hear footsteps in the distance.

"Quick! Behind that conveniently shaped lamp!" I only now realize that the lamp is strangely exactly my shape and size. 

"What the fu-" I hear Chara start as she stares at the lamp, looking confused. I cut her off by darting behind the lamp, desperate for a hiding place.

The second skeleton that steps into sight is pretty much the exact opposite of his brother. Papyrus is really tall, and I'm sure he would tower over me if I was standing next to him. He's got a bright red scarf around his neck, and he is extremely loud.

"Sup, bro?" Sans greets his brother casually, luckily not mentioning me.

"You know what 'sup' brother! It's been eight days, and you still haven't recalibrated! Your! Puzzles!" He exclaims, and although he sounds much more annoyed than actually angry, both Chara and I tense up.

"You just hang out outside your station!" The tall skeleton continues. "What are you even doing?!"

"Staring at this lamp, it's really cool. Do you wanna look?" Sans offers, and I panic. What the hell is he doing? One glance at Chara and I know she has the exact same thoughts as me. If she was corporeal I think she might actually punch him in the face.

"No!! I don't have time for that! What if a human comes through here?! I want to be ready!" I try to stay as quiet as I can, not wanting to be discovered.

"I will be the one! I must be the one!" I'm surprised by the sheer amount of determination in his voice. "I will capture a human!"

His expression changes. "Then I, the Great Papyrus, will get all the things I utterly deserve!" He announces happily.

"Respect! Recognition! I'll finally be able to join the Royal Guard!" What do they even need a royal guard for?

"People will ask to be my, 'friend'." I surprise myself by suddenly sympathizing with him. He doesn't really seem that bad, really. More ridiculous than intimidating, and maybe even lonely.

"I will bathe in a shower of kisses every morning!" And... The sympathy fades.

"Hmm... Maybe this lamp will help you." At this point, I'm starting to wonder whether Sans is actually trying to help me. Papyrus doesn't seem that bad, but I still don't wanna be captured...

"Sans!! You are not helping, you lazybones! All you do is sit and boondoggle!" I see Chara chuckle out of the corner of my eye at the strange use of words.

"You get lazier and lazier every day!" Papyrus finally finishes. Does he even breathe? Do skeletons need to breathe? How are they even animated? What?

"Hey, take it easy. I've gotten a ton of work done today. A skele-ton." Now it's my turn to laugh. I try to hold it back, but I can't help the small giggle that escapes me. Luckily neither skeleton seems to hear it.

"Sans!!!" Papyrus screeches in an annoyed yet amused tone.

"Come on, you're smiling!" Sans grins wider at the realization.

"I am and I hate it!" He sighs. "Why does someone as great as me have to do so much just to get some recognition?!" He sounds kinda sad now, and I almost feel bad for him.

"Huh. Sounds like you're really working yourself... Down to the bone." Sans jokes again, and I have cover my mouth with my hand to hold back my laughter. Chara, however, seems repelled and disgusted by the use of puns. 

"Ugh!!" Papyrus yells, almost as irritated as Chara. "I will attend to my puzzles! As for your work, put a little more backbone into it." Chara visibly groans, and Sans laughs.

Papyrus laughs loudly before making a rather theatrical exit back the way he came. A few moments later, I hear Sans speak.

"Okay, you can come out now." He announces, and when I step out from behind the lamp, I kind of want to chew him out for almost giving away my hiding position.

I let out a sigh of relief. I'm not captured yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave any opinions or ideas in the comments!


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